The North Carolina Supreme Court's seven justices make many decisions that impact the day-to-day lives of people in the state and have the final say on state law.

There is no higher court in the state than the Supreme Court of North Carolina. 

What You Need To Know

  • The N.C. Supreme Court often makes decisions that influence the election process, such as on voter identification

  • North Carolina has partisan elections for state Supreme Court, where justices serve 8-year terms

  • The state high court also often rules on how congressional and state voting district lines are drawn

Incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs and her opponent Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin are facing off in one of the most significant but possibly less noticed races in the state this election season.

Only eight states hold partisan elections for their high courts. North Carolina instituted that law in 2018.

Campbell University constitutional law expert Gregory Wallace argued this vote is one of the most important in any election cycle.

“The North Carolina Supreme Court has been involved in certain significant decisions that affect elections,” Wallace said.

Take voter identification, for example.

“Voter ID is thought by many people to promote and secure election integrity, that we don't have people voting who shouldn't be voting in elections,” he said.

Voters approved voter ID as a constitutional amendment, but legislators had to create a law to implement it. That law has been tied up in court for years.

Most recently, a 5-2 vote by the Republican majority on the Supreme Court reversed a prior court’s decision in late April 2023. The reversal by a conservative-heavy court upended the ruling previously set by a court primarily consisting of Democratic justices.

One of the perennial issues the court rules on is how our congressional and state voting district lines are drawn. The justices have weighed in on these voting districts, which date back decades. Often the court has sent maps back to the General Assembly for redrawing. The final maps determine who voters can vote for each election cycle. 

“I think most of the litigation that goes on that the North Carolina Supreme Court would be involved in would be, what I would call pre-election litigation,” Wallace said.

Justices serve staggered 8-year terms. Shifting the balance of power takes years.

This election cycle, Democrats want to maintain their minimal presence on the high court, but Republicans are looking to pick up another seat.

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